Wall St edges up on financials as Fed eyed

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed slightly higher on Tuesday but trading was in a narrow range with financial stocks providing the biggest boost ahead of the conclusion of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting.

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US stocks were boosted by gains in Apple on Wednesday, and investors awaited the Federal Reserve's policy statement later in the day. Apple sold 48 million iPhones in the quarter and reported a near doubling of revenue from China, allaying concerns about its business in the world's second-largest economy. The stock was up 2.4 per cent at $117.27, providing the biggest boost to the three major indexes. The Fed's statement is due at 2:00 p.m. ET (1800 GMT) after its two-day policy meeting ends.

TOKYO: Asian shares and the dollar inched higher on Tuesday but caution reigned after Wall Street skidded as investors awaited this week's US Federal Reserve policy decision. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.1 per cent, after Wall Street logged losses, with US trading volume at its lowest in a month as markets awaited the Fed outcome. Japan's Nikkei stock index rose 0.6 per cent as investors awaited the outcome of the Bank of Japan's two-day policy meeting later this session, as well as BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda's post-meeting speech.

HONG KONG: Asian stocks snapped a four-day losing streak on Tuesday as an overnight bounce in US shares boosted risk appetite while gold briefly popped to a one-year high on growing expectations of more policy stimulus. Market attention will be focused on the Australian central bank's interest rate decision later in the day. Economists don't expect any change to policy at this meeting so a surprise rate cut would add to concerns about the lack of growth in the global economy.

It is fitting that just a few hours until the Fed's second rate hike in two quarters, and one day after Goldman downgraded global stocks to Neutral for the next 3 months, not to mention with the results of the anticipated Dutch election due shortly, that global stocks as well as S&P futures are higher, while crude oil has finally managed to stage a rebound as the Dollar DXY index is fractionally in the red.

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged while saying risks to the U.S. economy have subsided and the labour market is getting tighter, suggesting conditions are getting more favourable for an increase in borrowing costs.

Gary Townsend submits:This morning. Equity futures are slightly higher and improving. March SPX futures are at 1281.20, up 1.50 points after fair value adjustment. Next SPX resistance is at 1289.02. Next support is at 1279.88. Asian markets were mixed, though the Shanghai composite continues to sell off.